Ink fountain for use in printing machines



Aug. 6, 1940. w. F. HUCK 2,210,243

INK FQUNTAIN FOR USE IN PRINTING MACHINES Filed Dec. 50, 19s? 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 6, 1940 w. F. HUCK m FOUNTAIN FOR USE IN PRINTING MACHINES 2 She'ets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 30, 1937 Patented Aug. 6, 1940 UNITED STATES INK FOUNTAIN FOR USE IN PItINTING MACHINES William F. Huck, Richmond Hill, N. Y., assignor to R. Hoe & 00., Inc., New York, N. ,Y., poration of New York Application December 30', 1987, Serial No. 182,596

6 Claims. (Cl. 101 -365)" This invention relates to fountains or reservoirs, and more particularly to undershot ink fountains for use in printing machines. "An object of this invention is the provision of improved means and method for adjusting the inclined bottom plate or scraper blade of the fountain relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller to thereby accurately control the quantity of ink supplied from the fountain. A specific object of this invention is the provision of improved mechanism for adjusting the fountain scraper blade relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller, the adjusting mechanism including a screw which is movable linearly in directions towards and away from the blade by its rotary movement, and the screw operably engages an adjusting member to impart linear movement to the adjusting member in directions towards and away from the blade in directions opposed to the linear movement of the screw, and the amplitude of linear movement of the adjusting member being less than the first member thereby imparting accurately controlled adjusting movement to the blade relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller. v

A further object of this invention is to provide an undershot ink fountain which includes a flexible bottom plate or scraper blade which cooperates with the peripheral surface of the fountain roller to control the quantity of ink supplied from the fountain, and means for adjusting the lower terminal of the scraper blade relative to the pe-" ripheral surface of the fountain roller, which means include a screw having a portion threadedly secured to a fixed member and a block threadedly secured to a separate threadedportion of the screw and engaging the fountain blade, said block being movable linearly towards and away from the blade by rotary movement of thescrew thereby accurately adjusting the terininal of the fountain blade relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller.

. Another object of this invention is to provide an undershot ink fountain for use in printing machines, the fountain having a flexible inclined bottom plate or scraper blade mounted for cooperableengagement with the peripheral surface of the fountain roller to control the quantityof ink supplied from the fountain, a plurality of manually adjustable screws having portions threadedly secured to a fixed member, a nut threadedly secured to another threaded portion blade and also rotates the screw relative to its nut thereby moving the nut linearly towards and away from the blade, the linear movement of eachnut being in directions opposed to the linear movement of t the screw and of less amplitude thereby imparting accurately controlled adjusting movement to'the flexible fountain blade rela-' tive to thefperipheral surface of the fountain roller. V

A more specific object of this invention is to provide 'anundershot ink fountain for use in printingmachines, the fountain having a flexible inclined bottom plate or scraper blade mounted for 'cooperableengagement with the peripheral surface"o-ffthe fountain roller to control the quantity of" ink supplied from the fountain, a plurality of manually rotatable adjusting screws, each screw having threads of given pitch threadedly engaging 'a fixed member and separate threads of vdifferent pitch, a block threadedly secured to the said separate threads, means for holding the block against rotation so that rotary movementjo-f thescrew .moves it linearly in directions'towards'and away from the bladeand also rotates the screw relative to its block thereby moving theblock linearly towards and away from the blade; the rotative movement of the screw of given amplitude imparts linear movementtofthe adjusting block of amplitude determined by the difference of pitch of the threads of the'screw, j 1 Another o-bject of this invention is to provide an u'ndershot ink fountain for use in printing niachines'gfthe'fountain including a fountain roller,,an;.mig rq11er;a ductor roller, arms supporting theiducto-r' roller for, operable movement between the fountain'roiller and the ink roller, an improved.meansiforjrotatably securing the ductor roller to the said arms. 1 It also n "object of this invention to provide an n ountain of generally improved constructionwhereby the device will be simple, durablefarid illexp ns'ive in construction as well as c nvenient, practical,.serviceable and eflicient in its use.

With the-' 'foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement' 'of parts, and in the details of-con-- structi'on hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that various changes in form, proportion, and minor details of construction may be made within the scope of the claims without departing 'from the spirit or sacrificing any advantages' the inventionfl Figure 2 is an elevational view of Figure l looking in the direction of the arrow depicted in Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows.

Referring to the drawings in which similar reference characters designate corresponding parts, there is shown an undershot ink fountain having a rigid inclined body portion or base It) and spaced side walls or cheeks which extend upward from the base Ill. A'fountain roller I2 is provided, and the opposed terminals of the fountain roller shaft |3 are mounted in suitable antifriction bearings l5 supported by brackets l6 secured to the opposed sides of the fountain body or base ID by screws or other suitable securing devices IT, as best seen in Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings. In these figures only one side of the machine is depicted, but inasmuch as'th'e supporting mechanism is duplicated at each side of the machine, it is of course, understood that similar brackets and bearings are provided at the opposed side of the machine. A suitable plate or cap l8 is secured to each bracket IE to complete the closure of the antifriction bearings |5. A pad or securing lug I9 is carried by the fountain base l0 and it is provided with apertures for the reception of suitable securing devices to secure the fountain to the printing machine frame in conformity with the usual practice. Inasmuch as this mode of securing fountain structures to printing machine frames is well known and understood by those skilled in the art, the machine frame and the securing elements are not depicted in these drawings.

The upper surface of the inclined base Ill is preferably machined'or finished to slidably support a blade support or carriage 20, and a flexible plate or scraper blade 2| is securedto the upper surface of the inclined blade support or carriage 20 by rivets or other suitable securing devices 22, as best seen in Figures 2 and 3 of the drawings. The lower terminal of the flexible scraper blade 2| extends beyondthe lower terminal of the blade support 20 topermit flexing movement of this portion of the plate'or blade towards and away from the peripheral surface of the fountain roller l2. As will be hereinafter explained, the lower flexible terminal of the scraper blade 2| operably engages the peripheral surface of the fountain roller l2, thus subjecting the engaged edge of the blade to wear. In order to adjust the blade 2| for linear movement to and from the fountain roller |2 to compensate for this wear a flange or ear 23 extendsdownwardly from the outer terminal of the scraper blade carri-age 20. Apertures 25 extend through the flange or ear 23 and a screw 26 is swiveled in each aperture, and the inner terminal of each screw 26 threadedly engages one of the threaded apertures 21 formed in the outer terminal of the base ||l. Other screws 26 are screw threaded into the flange 23 and extend therethrough and abut the edge of the fountain base :|;0- and these screws are provided with lock nuts 26". The screws 26 function to draw the carriage 20 and blade 2| away from the fountain roller l2, and the screws 26 function to force the carriage 20 and blade 2| towards the fountain roller, consequently, means are thus provided for adjusting the blade support or carriage 20 and the scraper blade 2| towards or away from the fountain rollerin order that the inner terminal .of' the flexible blade 2| may be positioned in accurate cooperable position in relation to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller. After the blade 2| has been adjusted in proper operative relation to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller l2, the blade carriage 2|) is immovably secured to the fountain base In by screws 24 which threadedly engage apertures formed in the fountain blade carriage 2|], and these screws 24 are received within elongated slots l4 formed in the fountain base ID to permit adjusting movement of the plate carriage ripheral surface of the fountain roller I2 and the bottom plate or scraper blade 2|, it is necessary that the lower terminal of the flexible scraper plate 2| be adjusted with extreme accuracy relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller l2. Heretofore attempts have been made to adjust the scraper blade relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller by adjusting screws, but such arrangements have proven unsatisfactory, because, even though very fine threads are employed on the adjusting screw, a very limited rotative movement of the adjusting screw imparts excessive adjusting movement to the blade, thereby making it'very difficult to properly adjust the blade terminal relative to the peripheral surface of the cylinder.

'A feature of applicants invention resides in the novel means and method of adjusting the scraper blade 2| relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller I2, and this adjusting mechanism includes a plurality of operating members or thumb screws 3| threadedly secured in threaded apertures formed in a thickened portion 32 of the fountain base l0, and each screw is provided with a manipulating head or wing '33. The inner or upper terminal of each adjusting screw 3| is reduced, and provided with threads '35 which threadedly engage a threaded aperture 36 formed in a rectangular adjusting block or nut 31 which is mounted for axial or linear movement in a recess 38 formed in the fountain base If). The recess 38 extends transversely across the fountain, and at the lower or inner-terminal of the recess a transversely extending bar or guide member 39 is positioned. The bar 39 is secured to the fountain base It by machine screws or other suitable securing devices' lll, and it is so positioned that a face thereof engages a face of each adjusting block or nut 31 to prevent rotative movement of the block but permits free axial sliding movement thereof. The threads 35 formed on the reduced portion of each screw 3| are preferably of somewhat finer pitch than the threads formed on the body of the screw, so that as the screw 3| is rotated through a determined angle, the screw 3| moves axially or linearlyin directions towards or away from the scraper blade 2| a definite distance in accordance with the pitch of the threads on the body of the screw 3|. Inasmuch as the threads 35 formed on the reduced portion of the screw are of slightly finer or different pitch than the threads formed on the main body of the screw 3|, it is manifest that as the screw is rotated the nut 31 will move axially in directions towards or away from the fountain roller l2 a distance less than the axial movement of the-screw 3| for the same degree of rotative movement. Consequently, by suitably selecting the pitch of the threads formed on the body of the screw 3| and the threads 35 formed on the reduced portion or inner terminal of the screw, the differential action produced due to the different pitch of the different threads permits the nut to move axially any desired distance with a given degree of rotary movement of the screw 3|. 1 Thus it is seen,

by this arrangement relatively great rotative movement may be imparted to the screw 3|, and the pitch of the threads can be so chosen that this movement will impart only infinitesimal axial movement to the nut. Consequently, the operator, owing to the fact that relatively great angular rotative movement of the screw 3| results in very small axial movement of the nut 31, has complete control of the adjusting mechanism to permit him to accurately adjust the inner terminal of the scraper blade relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller to thus accurately control the quantity of ink supplied from the fountain past the blade terminal to any suitable inking mechanism.

Asshown in Figure 2, a plurality'of the nuts 31 and screws 3| are provided, and, these nuts are positioned end to end transversely across the fountain thereby permitting the operator to adjust any chosen transversely disposed portion of the blade relative to the peripheral surface of the fountain roller, thus giving to the operator accurate control of the supply of ink throu hout the length'of the fountain.

The fountainmay supply ink to any selected inking mechanism, and, as depicted in Figure l, the first roller 4| of a suitable inking mechanism is rotatably mounted adjacent the fountain roller l2. The inner terminal of an arm 42 is rigidly secured at each side of the fountain to a shaft 43, as shown in Figure 1, and the shaft 43 is mounted for rocking movement in conventional bearings, not shown. A lever 44 extends downwardly from an arm, and the lower terminal of thelever 44 is pivotally secured to a link 45, as indicated at 46. The opposed terminal of the link 45 extends through an aperture 41 formed I link 45 and is positioned between the spaced washers 5| and 52 to normally bias the arm 42 for clockwise movement. The upper terminal of each arm 42 is provided with a semi-cylindrical surface 56, as best seen in Figure 1 of the drawings. An arcuate cap 51 is provided with a similar arcuate surface 58, and the cap 51 and upper terminal of the arm 42 provide a bearing socket to rotatably receive the shaft of a ductor roller 6|. The arcuate surfaces 56 and 58 may en age the shaft 6|! to provide bearing surfaces therefor, or these arcuate surfaces may engage antifriction bearing members carried by the shaft 60 to thus rotatably support the shaft 60 and. roller 6|. Both arrangements are well understood by those skilled in the art, therefore, it is thought that thearran'gement' depicted in Figure l'am'ply illustrates this phase of applicants invention. Each arm 42 has the lower terminal of a link 62 pivotally secured thereto, as indicated at 63, and the upper terminal of each link 62 is pivotally secured to a cap 51, as indicated at 65. A securing yoke or member 68 is pivotally secured to each arm 42, as indicated at 61, and a screw 66 is threadedly received therein and the inner terminal of the screw abuts a surface 16 of the terposed link 62, flexibility is provided which enables the securing member or yoke 66 to be readily secured in position to lock the cap 51 in operative position upon the fixed portion of the socket, and, furthermore, this flexibility also permits the arcuate bearing surface or bearing supporting surface 58 of the cap 51 to. accurately aline with the'cooperating arcuate surface 58 of the arm 42 topresent true concentric bearing surfaces or bearing supporting surfaces for the reception of the ductor roller shaft 60 or antifriction bearing member for the shaft, even though the apertures for the pivotal connections 62 and 63 are not accurately located relative to the arcuate surfaces 56 and 58. I

In order to operably move the ductor roller 6| between the fountain roller I2 and the roller 4| of theinking mechanism, in conformity with the usual practice, a link 12 is pivotally secured to an ear 13 extending upwardly from an arm 42, as indicated at 14. The opposed terminal of the link 12 is connected to any suitable cam operated mechanism forming apart of the printing machine, and, inasmuch as such actuated mechanism is well understood by those skilled in the art and forms no part of this invention, it has not been here illustrated. 1

I In operation, the link 12 is movedback and forth by the cam operated mechanism of the printing machine and during this operation the spring 63 stresses the ductor roller 6| towards the fountain roller I2. As the-link 12 moves outwardly the arms 42 and shaft 43. move about their pivot against the tension of the springs. 53 and thereby move the ductor roller into engagement with the roller 4| of the inking mechanism.

.As this operation is completed ink is conveyed from the fountain roller l2 by the ductor roller.

6| to the inking mechanism roller 4|, in conformity with the usual practice.

The quantity of ink supplied from the foune tain bowl or reservoir 3|] to the ductor roller GI is of course determined by the degree of adjustment imparted to the lower flexible portion of the scraper blade 2|, and, as explained hereinbefore, relatively great rotary movement of each adjusting screw 3| imparts relatively small axial or linear movement to the lower terminal of the scraper blade through the operably interposed adjusting nut 31. Inasmuch as a plurality of nuts 31 are positioned end to end entirely across the fountain bowl throughout the axial length.

operator to impart infinitesimal adjusting movement to the engaged or selected portion of the fountain blade, it is manifest that this mechanism affords the operator complete and accurate control over the quantity of ink supplied from the fountain throughout the length of the fountain roller.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. In an ink fountain, a reservoir, a fountain roller, a blade having an edge cooperable with the roller to control the quantity of ink supplied from the reservoir, an adjusting member mounted for linear movement in directions to and from the blade and operable to adjustably move the blade relative to the fountain roller by its said linear movement, a fixed member, a screw having threads of given pitch threadedly engaging said fixed member and separate threads of different pitch directly and threadedly engaging the linearly movable adjusting member so that rotary movement of the said screw of given amplitude imparts linear movement to the adjusting member of amplitude determined by the difference of pitch of the said different threads of the screw.

2. In an ink fountain, a reservoir, a fountain roller, a blade having an edge cooperable with the roller to control the quantity of ink supplied from the reservoir, a plurality of adjusting members mounted for linear movement in directions to and from the blade and each adjusting member being operable to adjustably move the blade relative to the roller by the linear movement of the adjusting member, means engaging the adjusting members to hold them against rotation, a fixed member, a screw having threads of given pitch threadedly engaging said fixed member and separate threads of different pitch directly and threadedly engaging each linear movable adjusting member so that rotary movement of the screw of given amplitude imparts linear movement to the adjusting member of amplitude determined by the difference of pitch of the difierent threads of the screw.

3. In an ink fountain, a reservoir, a fountain roller, a flexible blade having an edge cooperable with the roller to control the quantity of ink supplied from the reservoir, an adjusting block having a threaded aperture formed therein and mounted for linear movement in directions to and from the blade and engaging the blade to adjustably move it relative to the fountain roller by the linear movement of the block, a fixed member, a screw having threads of given pitch threadedly engaging the fixed member and separate threads of different pitch threadedly engaging the threaded aperture formed in the block so that rotary movement of the screw of given amplitude imparts linear movement to the adjusting block axially relative to the screw of amplitude determined by the difference of pitch of the different threads of the screw.

4. In an ink fountain, a reservoir, a fountain roller, a flexible blade having an edge cooperable with the roller tocontrol the quantity of ink supplied from the reservoir, a plurality of adjusting blocks engaging the blade and positioned end to end across the fountain, each block having a threaded aperture formed therein, a bar engaging the blocks to hold them against turning movement and to permit linear movement of the blocks in directions to and from the blade, a fixed member, a screw for each block having threads of given pitch threadedly engaging the fixed member and separate threads of different pitch threadedly engaging the threaded aperture of each adjusting block so that rotary movement of given amplitude of each screw imparts linear movement to its adjusting block axially relative to the screw of amplitude determined by the difference of pitch of the different threads of the screw.

5. In an ink fountain, a reservoir, a fountain roller, a flexible slidably-mounted blade having an edge cooperable with the roller to control the quantity of ink supplied from the reservoir, an adjusting member mounted for linear movement in directions to and from the blade and operably connected with the blade to adjustably move the blade relative to the fountain roller by the linear movement of the adjusting member, a fixed member, a screw having threads of given pitch threadedly engaging the fixed member and separate threads of different pitch directly and threadedly engaging the adjusting member so that rotary movement of given amplitude of the screw imparts linear movement to the adjusting member of amplitude determined by the difference of pitch of the different threads of the screw.

6. In an ink fountain, a reservoir, a fountain roller, a blade cooperable with the roller to control the supply of ink from the reservoir, an adjusting member operably supported by the fountain and cooperable with the blade and mounted for linear movement substantially perpendicular to the blade and operable to adjustably move the blade relative to the fountain roller by its linear movement, and an operating member mounted for rotary and linear movement relative to the said adjusting member and operably connected therewith to move the adjusting member bodily relative to the operating member by the movement of the operating member, the operable connection between the adjusting member and operating member causing the amplitude of movement of the adjusting member relative to the operating member to be less than the corresponding l movement of the operating member to thereby impart adjusting movement to the adjusting member and blade in the direction of movement of the operating member of less amplitude than the corresponding movement of the operating member.

WILLIAM F. HUCK. 

